Jace's laugh was loud and seemed to ring through the entirety of The Hunter's Moon.
Or at least that's what it sounded like to Alec but then again, they were parabatai and he was used to always being more aware of Jace's presence- sometimes even more than his own.
He knew that there was something that Jace still wasn't telling him. He knew what he had felt and seen the day Valentine had been killed but he wasn't going to push his brother.
Right now he was just happy that Jace looked and sounded more carefree than he had been in a while. After everything that they had been through, from greater demons, to the downworld turning on them, to all the deaths that had happened, they all deserve a break and some time to just relax.
Or at least that's what Alec was trying to convince himself of.
Happiness was easier said than done, especially in his line of work but he wanted to try. And trying wasn't that hard when he was surrounded by so many people who he cared about.
He had even ordered a beer in celebration. Granted, he had been nursing the same bottle for over an hour now but it was the thought that counted. Things were as close to perfect as they had been in a long time.
Except for one thing.
He still had no idea where he and Magnus stood.
This was the first time they had seen each other since the whole 'Valentine thing' where Magnus had portaled them all back to New York and then promptly left without a single word.
He didn't really know what would happen if he tried to talk to the warlock. He could trip all over his words or not say what he actually wanted to and make the entire situation worse. But he couldn't just not try to talk to the man he loved.
He had been able to feel Magnus's absence in his life almost as clearly as he had been able to feel Jace's. It was just a constant aching pain in his stomach that turned into more of a stabbing sensation whenever they had to be in the same room and act as if nothing had ever happened between them.
He hated whatever it was they were now.
They hadn't officially talked about breaking up but at the same time every interaction they had had since then had been awkward or stilted or aggressive and he couldn't continue on like this.
Not when Magnus was literally on the other side of the room so close that Alec could almost make out every single one of his eyelashes.
Alec took a long swig of beer to try to steel himself and then winced because he fucking hated beer. He straightened his shoulders and the hand that wasn't holding the beer bottle curled into a fist to hide the fact that it was shaking. Then he started to walk through the crowd of people in front of him.
His heart seemed to grow louder with every step forward until he could barely hear anything else. He walked past Luke, who was very drunk and in a very good mood and the strong fatherly pat he gave to Alec's shoulder in passing helped calm him a bit. That was until he was suddenly right in front of Magnus and it was way too late to turn around or try to hide. It was now or never.
Magnus was drinking what looked like a martini as Alec stood there and said, "Hey."
"Hey," Magnus responded, no hint of malice. So far so good.
"Looks like you got your energy back."
"Hmm. My go to home remedy after a major magic depletion: boiling hot bath, eight-ounce steak, medium rare, and a lot of these." He gestured to his drink, laughing at himself before taking another sip. "Any sign of demons?" Magnus continued.
"None." And then he was spewing a bunch of nonsense about sensor maps that he honestly could care less about but he wasn't able to stop his babbling about demons because at least that topic was safe.
"Well, then we can take this moment." Magnus raised his glass, his rings sparkling in the low light of the bar. "To celebrate."
They clinked drinks but Alec would much rather face down a pack of demons than finish this bottle of piss that was pretending to be alcohol. He watched Magnus drink from his glass instead and was hit with such a quick wave of longing and sadness that he found himself talking before he even knew what the hell was going on.
"Can we talk?" He asked. There. The offer was on the table for Magnus to either accept or decline.
Magnus gave a small nod. "Yeah."
Alec decided to walk away rather than try to respond because he didn't want to give himself time to put his foot in his mouth or Magnus time to change his mind.
He walked through the crowd of people and out the back door. In the back alley, he tried to take some calming breaths to get his shit together but it wasn't really working.
Then the door was opening again and Magnus was behind him and his time was up. It was the moment of truth.
"Magnus, I'm sorry." He said immediately.
"Don't apologize," Magnus said almost as quickly as he had.
"No. I should have told you about the soul sword."
"It's in the past."
"Magnus- " Why wasn't he understanding? Why did he keep trying to insist that it was fine? It wasn't fine. It had nearly destroyed everything they had and Alec had to apologize. He had to get this out or he was going to explode. "Ever since our fights I can't-I can't think straight."
"Well, I can't do anything without... thinking about you," Magnus said, only a bit of hesitance when it came to admitting that out loud. But Alec felt his heart skip a beat in his chest nonetheless because it wasn't too late.
"Magnus, I...I don't think I can live without you." He felt a bit breathless saying it but it was out there and it was true and it needed to be said.
But Magnus seemed to take it in stride. He took a breath of his own. "I-I-I thought I would have to choose between you and the downworld but I don't." Was Magnus saying what he thought he was saying? "A wise man once told me 'relationships take effort'." It felt like lifetimes had passed since Alec had said that and thinking about what an understatement that was made them both laugh.
Alec felt the knot in his chest start to loosen as he said as much.
"You know what's not an understatement?" Magnus asked while leaning forward.
Their lips touched and Alec felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach. He loved kissing Magnus. His boyfriend always kissed him like their relationship was brand new and like he couldn't quite believe that Alec was real. When he pulled back to look at Alec, his eyes were golden and slit like a cat's- the only outward sign that Magnus was feeling a bit overwhelmed as well. He smiled in a special way that he only did for Alec and he felt his heart swell with love.
"I'm all into parties but what do you say we get out of here?" Magnus offered.
"Yes." Magnus's hand reached down to grab his and he began to lead Alec down the alleyway.
"What do you say to taking a nice walk down the Champs-Élysées?"
"I'd say that sounds amazing."
With a very simple movement of Magnus's hand, he didn't even have to let go of Alec's, the warlock created a glowing portal in front of them. They walked through and after only a brief moment of lightheadedness, they were on a peaceful path lined with trees.
"What time is it?" Alec asked, wondering about the time difference.
Magnus hummed. "Around two I think but worry not love, I know the perfect little place that should still be open."
Magnus tugged his hand and began to expertly lead him down the street.
"How many times have you been here?" Alec remembered passing through a couple times when he was younger but it had been always been business related- visiting an Institute, raiding a weapons cache, nothing particularly interesting.
"I've definitely lost count. Did I tell you that I lived here for most of the 18th century?"
Alec shook his head. "I don't think you have."
"Really? I could have sworn I-oh." Magnus stopped abruptly both in his movements and words. He reached behind Alec to open a door that he hadn't even realized was there.
"What is it?"
Alec asked while walking through the doorway. It revealed a small room with a handful of tables. The only light source seemed to come from flickering candles and there was a violinist set up in the corner playing soft music. It was beautiful.
"What is this place?" He asked momentarily distracted by the atmosphere.
Magnus smiled softly. "Only the single greatest place to get dessert in this city."
Magnus led him to one of the candlelit tables and almost as soon as they were seated, they were approached by a man dressed like a waiter that Magnus began to speak to in French.
After the man had left Alec took Magnus's hand again. "What were you saying before? About living here for most of the 18th century?"
"Oh yeah, I just realized the reason I probably didn't speak about it was that I spent a lot of time with Camille here."
"Oh." He said because he didn't really know what else to say. He expected to feel some sort of jealousy but it never came. It had been centuries ago- long before Alec had even been born. And besides, they had already discussed the whole Camille thing. She and Magnus had history, they couldn't deny that but Magnus hadn't let that cloud his judgment. He had turned her in. Magnus had chosen to be with Alec.
Magnus raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"
Alec was quick to backtrack. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that." He brought Magnus's knuckles up to his lips to press a quick kiss to the skin there. "I told you before, I don't care how many people you have been with. I'd love to hear about your time here if you want to talk about it."
Magnus smiled at him in that way that made Alec's heart go all wonky in his chest. He wanted nothing more than to lean across the table and press their lips together.
He was halfway there when their waiter appeared with a platter of brightly colored desserts and wine. They both thanked the man in French and as soon as he had left Magnus picked up a bright green macaroon and held it up to Alec's lips.
"You have to try the pistachio macaroons. They're to die for."
Alec bit into the pastry and immediately made a sound that should really only belong in the bedroom. He felt his cheeks fill with heat as Magnus began to laugh and after a while, he began to join in as well.
They spent a good portion of an hour and a half sitting there drinking wine, feeding each other desserts and talking about anything and everything from the French revolution to hot air balloons to Alec's siblings to Idris. By the time they had stumbled out of the cafe together, laughing and holding each other up Alec felt as if Magnus's hand around his waist was the only thing keeping him tethered to the earth and not floating up into the clouds.
Magnus pulled him into a dark alley and they made out for so long that Alec felt drunk not just off the wine but off of happiness and love and Magnus, Magnus, Magnus.
Magnus was everything and everywhere but Alec couldn't get as close as he wanted to.
Magnus's hand left his waist for a brief moment to snap his fingers and then Alec was falling backward into a portal.
Alec woke up to the sunlight burning his eyeballs. He groaned and tried to roll over but ended up knocking heads with Manus.
He heard a low sound of pain. "Ow. Good morning to you too."
Alec opened his eyes to see Magnus smirking at him. He began to laugh and brought his hands up to frame Magnus's face and placed a quick kiss to his forehead. "I'm sorry."
He felt Magnus's arm snake around his bare waist. "It's alright. You can make it up to me."
And then his boyfriend was leaning forward and they were kissing. Again and again and again until Alec lost all sense of time.
When they finally broke apart they stayed close, foreheads pressed together and smiling like fools in love. But that's exactly what they were so he didn't care.
"I've missed this." He said which caused Magnus to roll on top of him and plant little butterfly kisses all over his face and neck and shoulders until Alec was giggling like a toddler.
"I've missed you too, darling," Magnus said against his skin and they laid there in silence for a bit, content to just be like this.
And then Alec's stomach decided to ruin the moment by making a dying animal sound.
Magnus sat up with an amused look on his face. "I know a place that makes the best bagels, I could snap some up and then we can just stay in bed all day and watch bad reality tv?"
"There's nothing I would rather do."
A/N: Let me know what you guys think please! I know it's been a long ass time since I've written fic so let me know if I still got it!